Dispensing device



Feb. 5, 193.5. H. HOPKES 1,990,325

DISPENSING DEVICE Filed May 16, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVEN'I'I'BR= Feb- 5, 1935- H. HoPKEs DISPENSING DEVICE Filed May 16, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Hmwlmffu ham,...

INVENTR? Patented Feb. l5, 1935 f UNITED `sra'riis Application May '16,.1933,Seral No. 671,299 In Germany January 6, 1933 1' Claim. (Cl. 673-141)- My invention relates to devices for.dispensing beverages.

In existing devices of this kind, the artificial cooling means is a sep'arate unit from the dis- 5 pensing means involving the drawback that, if

the dispensing of the beverage has been for some time interrupted, the beverage as it flows from the cooling section of the device toward the tap, its temperature is raised. In order to overcome thi/s defect, I have so designed my dispensing apparatus that the evaporating coil, together with the cold storage means, is combined with the dispensing means to constitute therewith a selfcontained unit, whereby lthe beverage to be dispensed is subjected to the effects of the cooling means immediately prior to its being Adischarged lfromthe tap.

Beverage dispensing columns provided with ice cooling are old but the constant renewal of the tion, aside from the fact that uniform cooling is erage dispensing columns are very expensive.

The dispensing device, according to the present invention, consists 'o Aa closed box-like container equipped with taps fo the dispensing of the beverage and having installed therein an artificial cooling system so that the entire outt can be placed on lany table or surface and can beeasily moved to any desired location. Because Aof the simple and compact type of my dispensing device, the cost of production and therefore also the purchasing cost are reduced to a fraction of those of the old-time equipment.

The compact construction of the apparatus, according to this invention, due to the combination of the artificial cooling means with the dispensing column is rendered possible also by the employment for the accumulation of the cold of a substance which freezes at approximately |2 centigrade. For this purpose, a chemically 'homogeneous substance e. g. ammonium nitrate, or a mixture of substances which are miscible also in the solid state is preferred so .as to prevent disintegration during solidiflcation. rSubstances best suited' are lthose whose solidication takes place within narrow temperature limits and which give off as much heat as possible, without, preferably, expanding during solidiflcation.

To insure the actual utilization of the entire refrigerating liquid, particularly in intermittent operation, the invention provides that the cold storage space is provided with substances that are good: heat conductors, such as 4copper wool.

One embodiment of the invention is shown, by

ice is fa' bothersome and time-consuming operaway of illustration, on the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view. of a beer tapping device; Fig. 2, a vertical section thereof drawn to alarger scale; and Fig. 3, a horizontal section.

As shown in Figal, a is the boxlike container replacing the usual dispensing column"or foun tain and having, for instance, two-taps b laterally disposed so that purchasers may observe the pouring out of the beverage.; The box. a is prol0 vided with a tray s having a discharge opening t and serving' as catch for overow beer: The box `together with the tray may be placed on a table, or the like, as shown in Fig. 2. A hoilow space c in the box intended for receiving the refrigerating liquid contains an evapcrating coil d provided with an injection valve (not shown) and furthermore two coils f, y (Fig. 2), through .which the beer ows `to either tap b. According to this invention, the two `pipes y differ in length,the inner one j having more coils than the outer one g in order to provide for the different.cooling of the beer flowing. towards the two taps b.l yFor example, if light beer is passed throughy the coil f and dark beer through the" coil y, the dark beer, in normal operation, will ow out at a slightly higher temperature than the light beer, which is usually desired.

'Ihe difference in temperatures, in additionto being brought about by the different length and 5 0 `position of the pipes lf and y, maybe attained/ also in other ways, such as the employment for theA pipes f and g of material that differs in heat conductivity. If the beer is to flow out of one tap at a higher temperature than out of the other, even after longer interruptions, the hollow space c may be dividedby the partition h shown in Fig. 2 into two compartments containing accumulator means havinga different freezing point.

The space c contains, particularly in the parts 40 not directly adjacent to the evaporator and beer pipes, copper wool u, or a similar substance possessing a large surface 'and good heat ccnductivity so as to insure complete utilization of the heat capacity of `the accumulator during heavy fluctuations of load. i

i indicates the feeler of a thermostat stopping the refrigerating plant as soon as the entire contents of the accumulator are frozen and the te'mperature begins to fall below the freezing point. A second thermostat with the feeler 7c regulates the injection of the 'refrigerating medium through the injection valve into the evaporator coil d. m indicates adjusting means for the thermostats. The amount of refrigerating medi- 5 .5

2 l A. v 1,990,825 k um to be injected into the evaporator coil may be preferably provided with s soft rest or pad r concontrolled vznlsoby other means than thermostats. 818121118191 rubbef 011th@ like. The entire-outtis surrounded by a, double I Chim:- wall n, o, the outer wall n of which consists, for A 1f-30am We 11590D8138 device r 5 instance, of nickeline orother non-corrosive'subcomprising '9' l5d ntamer having a' fold 5 'stance while the inner wall o is of t'inned sheet' non We' an envol-tor con surrounding copper. The [space between the two walls is sud we and mpted to receive a' refrigerating nued with an insulator ofheat msmaung means medium mummy f para beven n' v ducting pipes in diti'erent spaced relationship' to "0f 0WD tyev said evaporator cou', and a. dispensing tap pro- 10 In its center, the device is provided ifwith one,

or ve c l s p for c k vor other yiddecm the outwardly projecting end of each of bottles. bottom-oi?l cooling space is y 'HENRY HOPKES. 

